Racialisation and the inequitable experiences of racialised minority coaches in men's professional football club youth academies in England

Abstract

This article offers an empirical and theoretical examination of racialisation and the inequitable experiences of racialised minority coaches in men's professional football club youth academies in England. More specifically, it examines the ways in which the normative application of racialised ideologies, discourses and practices has engendered some inequitable interactions, representations, evaluations and outcomes for racialised minority coaches in the sports coaching context under review. In doing so, it draws on semi-structured interviews with racialised minority academy coaches ( n = 26) and academy managers ( n = 10) from dominant and marginalised ethnicities to ascertain their experiences and reflections on four inter-related areas of focus: firstly, club academies as racialised spaces; secondly, club academies and racialised stereotypes; thirdly, club academies and racialised assessments; fourthly, club academies and racialised outcomes. The article contextualises these findings from a Critical Race Theory perspective and draws clear linkages between the processes, experiences and outcomes of racialisation in club academies, and the ideological, definitional and discursive power of whiteness and racialised meaning making embedded in elite sports coaching contexts more broadly. The article concludes by outlining some operational implications for club academies and proposed educational activities designed to challenge racialised assumptions and encourage stronger cultural reflection amongst club academy staff.